Enhancing Diwali’s Light with Calligraphy

Letter from New Delhi —

What a deLIGHTful message of a Diwali greetings, handwritten in calligraphy penned by Swami Anand Kul Bhushan

What a deLIGHTful message of a Diwali greetings, handwritten in calligraphy penned by Swami Anand Kul Bhushan who shares the joy of creating this unique message for you

We all love to receive greeting cards. But these days, nobody bothers to send them, as it is such a chore – buying them, writing the first names of the recipients, addressing the envelopes and posting them. Today, the easy way out is greeting by email, SMS or WhatsApp and Telegram in this age of electronic messages. But all these greetings are read in seconds, deleted and moved in a flash from the ‘IN’ to the ‘TRASH’ box!

Most of these electronic greetings are readymade, downloaded from the net and, rarely do you get a personalized greeting with graphics. If you do, even this greeting meets the same fate of dumping in the trash box in an instant.

After deciding to be different, the idea of highlighting light in ‘delightful’ emerged and later, it was crafted in calligraphy. The half a dozen words took more than two hours – yes, two hours – of meditative writing for that is what calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, is all about. Why two hours? Because using the pen meant for musical notes was not easy as it had five different teeth. The text was then scanned and sent to graphic artist Amit Kumar who enhanced it with special effects to create the final version.

The five elements

The next challenge: how to entice the recipient to give it a second glance? Explain the reason for using the five streams in the word ‘light’. OK. The hazy explanation in my mind needs to be bolstered by research. What are these five elements in ancient India? Earth or Prithvi; Water or Jal; Fire or Agni; Air or Vayu and then Ether or Akasha. These elements form the structure of the universe and human body and senses, say the scriptures.

What do they stand for?

Earth – Heavy, solid and dense, the earthy people are grounded, stable, stubborn, and hard. It is associated with smell, muscle, bones, teeth, the base of the spine, and the soul.

Water – Fluid and soft, water is associated with sweetness, emotion and fertility. It is associated with taste buds, the heart, reproductive organs, and fat tissue.

Fire – Energy, visible light and heat are qualities of fire which is penetrating, subtle and dry. It is associated with the eyes, brightness of the skin and digestive system. Fire prioritizes truth and clarity over relationship.

Air – Movement and direction, air is light, dry, subtle, cold and dispersive. It is associated with the breath, mind, touch, and the muscle-skeletal system.

Ether – Space, soft, cosmic rays and receptivity mean ether. Isolation, loneliness or spiritual practices that increase consciousness have ether element. It is associated with the spirit, sound and the ears.

The scriptures say that when these five elements are balanced in the body, it is free of illness and old age. That is the wish for you.

The Greek philosopher Plato said, “Calligraphy is the geometry of the soul.” When it is laced with an inspirational Osho quote and its wording has a special significance, it all becomes memorable.

Hope you won’t trash it in seconds.

Kul Bhushan worked as a newspaper Editor in Nairobi for over three decades and now lives in New Delhi